Finally got around to changing the blown diff in the kia today. It all went fairly well as far as I know, and I took some pics that I'll be editing and posting as soon as I have the time (please don't hold your breath). A few things I need to address popped up as I was wrenching though:

1. the inner hub seals I bought when I replaced the wheel bearings were not the correct fitment, the seal diameter is right to the CV joint, but the metal part that actually holds the seal in place is the wrong diameter. Probably my own fault somewhere along the line, but troubling nonetheless.
2. My front passenger side tire is feathering on the inside part of the tread. If I run my hand over the tire from front to back it has a sharp edge there, where the other tires do not. I thought it may be due to under/overinflation but all my tires were at the same pressure (32psi). Possibly an alignment/steering issue or?
3. My brake pads on the same wheel (rh front) have worn improperly as well, the inner one that the piston pushes is practically unworn, whereas the outer is almost gone, and I am ordering new pads right now to avoid any metal to metal action. I've only used one set of pads on these rotors, and was thinking of buying a drilled set with pads off ebay, so does anybody want a set of (used a little) rotors for cheap? If there is any interest I'll get the rotor runout and thickness specs. As long as I'm thinking about brakes, does anyone know off the top of their head if the caliper bolt with the rubber sleeve is on top or the bottom?

What else did I find...... not a whole bunch to complain about. had to heat the castle nuts on the lower ball joints to get them to release, but still didn't have to curse it out more than a handful of times, so all seems well now. All I have yet to do is install the front driveshaft (time was short, and I have NO time during the week to 4x anyway) Will post pics when I have them ready or if other input is required.

Later, all. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/sleeping.gif" alt="" />

-----DISCLAIMER-----
The procedures I illustrate here are, to the best of my knowledge, relatively safe. If it seems unsafe to you - DON'T do it. Any mechanical job done improperly can result in loss of skin, loss of control or loss of life. Always work on your vehicle safely, use jackstands when working under vehicles, always use correct torque, wear safety glasses, replace broken and worn out parts before they cause a catastrophe. It's now out of my hands, I won't be held accountable (please!).

http://www.kiatechinfo.com/index.asp

This is the address for factory service info for your Sporty. I suggest creating a profile for yourself now if you haven't already. It isn't "fixin' cars for dummies" but it contains exploded diagrams and procedures that should get you by if you hit a wall. Torque specs and fluid types, volumes, and whatnot is also provided, free of charge, by the KIA Motor Corp. or whatever they call themselves which I find to be VERY generous.





This is more or less what you'll be looking at when you remove the front left wheel (beverage optional).


This is the cheapest, easiest way you'll find to compress the caliper piston for removal, anything less would be uncivilized (we'll get to that in a second). After this I removed the caliper carrier bolts with a 19mm socket and hung the assembly out of the way.


PB blaster goes a long way, but I couldn't get it to turn the bolts for me, so I used my impact to save a bit of time, 14mm tools required to remove the fastener here.



Before going much further I had to remove the automatic (yes, automatic) hub cover in order to remove the circlip holding the CV joint to the hub. It was in there somewhere,
honest!



I had to use a little bit of heat to remove the nuts (24mm tool) on the lower ball joints. I didn't want to, as you can see a little grease (if you can still call it that) was released. Time for new ones I guess...



As I don't have a proper ball joint separator, I had to use the old standard, top and bottom. Apply a bit of pry in the direction you want the arm to travel and give the spindle (knuckle? I don't know exactly what to call it) a sharp tap with a hammer in the opposite direction. This doesn't work all the time, and is rather barbaric. Buy, beg borrow or steal a proper tool if you can. The top ball joint has a slot on the back you can tap a chisel in to help removal.


After the ball joints are free, you can wiggle the assembly around until you can remove the CV out the back. This is a picture of a severely neglected needle bearing that supports the inboard part of the CV joint in the hub. Luckily the seals I bought to prevent this don't fit so I'll be right back here sooner than I'd like to.



Hang the hub assembly out of the way, grab the CV and hold it as square to the diff as possible. Use it like a slide hammer (outward) and if you're lucky like me it'll pop right out of the diff. The CV didn't come off the car completely as the strut trapped it on.


(edit) Forgot to mention that you'll need to remove the 4 fasteners securing the front driveshaft to the input flange. Very straightforward, lefty loosey righty tighty.


In this photo you can (sort of) see the passenger side diff mount points. Also in the photo is damage due to poor packaging and mishandling by UPS. One mount point is on the upper left (of pic)right beside the input flange. the other mount is the aluminum nub sticking out of the diff, bottom middle of pic. To be honest, the removal and replacement of the diff itself had to be the easiest part of the whole task (22mm tool), aside from lifting it into position and holding it there myself as I had no helper.



This is where the other diff mount should be, only it was snapped off sometime during transit, so I had to replace it with my old, somewhat leaky and worn one (also serves as axle seal and output shaft support). Kinda cheesed me off to get damaged parts, but no point crying over spilled milk, much as I'd like to.


Well, there we are. As left and right procedures are nearly identical, and installation is removal in reverse, I'll leave it at that.

I'd like to remind you again to use common sense (not so common) when wrenching. Wear your safety glasses - they make ones now that don't make you look like a geek! Don't try anything you aren't comfortable with unless you have somebody to come help when the s**t hits the fan. Make sure BEFORE you leave that all your fasteners are double checked.

looks........... complicated

And i think it is damn amazing, that you have to split the strut fork to get the cv shaft out. I have a brand new driver side waiting to go in, just kinda lack motivation. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/sleeping.gif" alt="" />

It likely would have come out if I forced it, but I didn't want to rip the cv boot, and didn't have any spare clamps handy to remove and replace to try to get them off and on as it was not necessary to the operation. I'd try to cut the clamp and peel the boot back before I removed the fork myself, but that's just me. 2 clamps and 5 minutes as opposed to possibly snapping a bolt off, but on that note I've had a lot of luck with the sporty not breaking when I tweak on it.
On a different tangent I changed the brake pads today as the one pad was almost non-existant. Found both calipers to float freely, but the pads themselves were super tight in the carriers. I tried the new pads to find that I would have had to beat them in with a hammer if I wanted them to fit. I filed the edges a little where they fit to the carrier, so they wouldn't require a sledge hammer to adjust. My brakes actually feel better, with more positive feel and less pedal travel. Too early to tell if this is the fix, but worth a try I think.

Wellll since i've allready broken and replaced said bolts. It seems like everything i do to this car demands broken bolts. I would like to have a word with the previous owner.

I just got my new diff last week,and Its going to go in in two weeks,whatched the guys at the junk yard drop it in 10 mins,nice job,hope it gos in the same, <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/lol.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/lol.gif" alt="" /> :ha ha ha <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/lol.gif" alt="" />,and you can get the axels out without ripping the boots just give it a good pull or push it will come..